Advancing research for HIV prevention among African, Caribbean and Black men

Abstract

In Ontario, African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) men account for almost 60% of the estimated number of HIV-positive people (through heterosexual contact), although they constitute less than 5% of the province's population. However, current HIV research, programming and policy in Ontario are not aligned with heterosexual ACB men's healthcare needs and interests, and fail to engage them in community responses to HIV. weSpeak is a multisite (Ottawa, Toronto, London, and Windsor) project that is aims to: assess the sociocultural and socio-political conditions that contribute to HIV related health disparities among ACB men, examine social and behavioral vulnerabilities to HIV among ACB men, including their social identities related to race, class, gender and sexualities, community engagement and mobilization part of the project, and generate, appraise and share new knowledge, and support its translation into intervention and practice. This will be a mixed method study comprising focus groups, in-depth interviews, and a survey to meet the data objectives. All data collection activities will take place at the same time in 4 cities in 3 sequential phases: focus groups, in-depth interviews, and a questionnaire survey. Service providers will participate in the concept mapping exercise to review the research findings and develop program, policy, and community-based initiatives to promote resilience and meaningfully engage heterosexual ACB men in community responses to HIV survey. This study will provide evidence on: heterosexual ACB men's experience of structural disadvantage and psychological factors is associated with HIV vulnerability. heterosexual ACB men with greater internal resilience and social resources show greater risky behaviors, and a conceptual Model of HIV vulnerability linking the potential internal and external factors that interact to influence HIV vulnerability. This study will lead to better understanding of the structural determinants and the psychosocial risk factors of HIV transmission among ACB men in Ontario which will aid in designing evidence-based intervention programs, and thereby reduce their higher vulnerability to HIV and its associated consequences.

Addressing HIV Misconceptions among Heterosexual Black Men and Communities in Ontario

“…This paper reports findings of the weSpeak study which was carried out in four cities (Ottawa, Toronto, London, and Windsor) in Ontario [ 20 ]. A total of 866 participants completed the questionnaire: Ottawa (n = 210), Toronto (n = 343), London (n = 157), and Windsor (n = 156).…”

“…For this paper, three categories of data were drawn from the survey results, including: (i) sociodemographic background (city of residence, country of birth, age, marital status, educational attainment, employment status, and religious status); (ii) personalised psychosocial attributes (levels of HIV misconceptions, negative condom attitude, age at sexual debut, and resilience); and (iii) socially ascribed psychosocial experiences (everyday discrimination and pro-community attitudes). Measures of these variables have been fully expatiated in the weSpeak study protocol [ 20 ]. The outcome variable, HIV misconception, was measured as the number of statements on the HIV Knowledge Questionnaire with incorrect answers.…”

“…The explanatory variables that were used in the analysis include: (i) sociodemographic factors: country of birth dummy (Canada = 1, other countries = 0), employment status (employed full time = 1, others = 0), religion (non-religious = 1, otherwise = 0), and education (more than high school = 1, high school or lower = 0); (ii) personalised psychosocial factors: age at sexual debut (years), negative condom attitudes (scale score, Cronbach α = 0.89), and resilience (scale score, Cronbach α = 0.76–0.84) [ 21 , 22 ]; and (iii) socially ascribed psychosocial factors: discrimination (scale score) and positive pro-Black community attitudes (scale score, Cronbach α = 0.81) [ 23 ]. Measures of these psychosocial variables have been fully described in previous studies [ 19 , 20 , 24 ].…”

Restoring public trust in COVID-19 vaccine among Africans, Caribbean, and Black Canadians Community based participatory research (CBPR)

“…In order for ACB communities to thrive in another pandemic, it is imperative for health systems to participate in meaningful community engagement. Using the health systems resilience framework supported by the World Health organization, community engagement is at the core, that impacts health service delivery, governance and nancing, workforce, medical products and public health functions [19,[22][23][24][25]. Our study participants shared these key elements of community engagement strategies in keeping with the framework to include engaging with ACB communities, building partnerships, tailoring messages to inform service delivery, policy and practice decisions and governance.…”

“…Our study participants shared these key elements of community engagement strategies in keeping with the framework to include engaging with ACB communities, building partnerships, tailoring messages to inform service delivery, policy and practice decisions and governance. Ensuring ACB community members are involved in policy decisions, hired to be key gatekeepers like primary care physicians, have access to health services and medication will help to improve their overall physical and mental health outcomes [19,[22][23][24][25] Limitations the Study…”